No Trust Motion against PM Imran Khan dismissed, President dismisses the National Assembly

[Shariq7]

Are the actions of the speaker, the same as the action of the house?

Lets forget for a moment that Imran is the PM.

If any PM and his party is able to dismiss the NCM via the speaker (who invariably is from the ruling party) and it cannot be judicially reviewed then it gives rise to a constitutional dictatorship, because then no government can be dismissed even if they lose majority.

Agreed!

 

[Shariq7]

Yes. Under article 69, it may seem unconstitutional (SC intervention).

This is rather a messy situation. SC should have some authority (atleast in intervening when such crisis arise) but as of now, I haven't seen any clause which does allow SC to it.

Since new elections will be held anyway so I too do not believe SC will make any changes.

The only ground that could be seen by troublesome by SC is, what if the speaker takes an action which is against public interest (it can happen, you never know) in future. Should SC be silent or it may issue subpoena to the speaker?

In one of the cases, the Court overturned the speaker's decision because she acted against an existing court order. There may be additional checks and balances within the Parliament procedure laws etc. Nevertheless, the speaker immunity should be qualified. It should not be absolute.

 

[kumjsr]

What would have happened if NA wasn't dissolved, but VNCM was rejected by deputy speaker

Would that have allowed Imran to remain PM for next 1.5 years. Since court can't change parliament decision, judiciary couldn't change anything and opposition couldn't have used NCM to remove PM.

 

[Gayle_Force]

Well the 198 members aligned with the opposition could just resign, which would pretty much force a fresh election.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has expressed its inability to conduct general elections within three months, citing various legal hitches and procedural challenges as the reason.

A senior official of the ECP told Dawn that the preparations for the general elections would require some six months. He said fresh delimitation of constituencies, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where the number of seats had been increased under the 26th Amend*ment, and bringing district- and constituency-wise electoral rolls in conformity were the major challenges.

“Delimitation is a time-consuming exercise where the law provides for one month’s time just to invite objections,” he said, adding that another one month was required to address the same. He said a minimum of three months would be required to complete the exercise, followed by another gigantic task of updating voters’ lists.

The official said procurement of election material, arrangement for ballot papers and appointment and training of polling staff were also amongst the challenges. He said that under the law, ballot papers with water mark were to be used which were not available in the country and would have to be imported. He revealed that the ECP had proposed to amend the law to provide for ballot papers with ‘security features’, instead of ‘water mark’.

Cites various legal hitches and procedural challenges

The official said inviting bids and scrutinising financial and technical quotations would also require some time. About the election material, he said some two million stamp pads would be required for around 100,000 polling stations. “This is just one example. Other materials in huge quantity, including scissors and ball points, will also have to be procured,” he remarked.

Referring to some legal hitches, the official said that under Section 14 of the Elections Act, the ECP was to announce an election plan four months prior to the polls. He said the law requiring use of EVMs (electronic voting machines) and giving overseas Pakistanis voting rights also held the field and had to be repealed.

The official said the commission had already announced the schedule for local government (LG) elections in Baluchistan, setting May 29 as the polling day, while the process was also under way to hold LG polls in Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad.

“We will have to drop the plan for LG polls, if general elections are to be conducted,” he noted.

Legal, operational challenges

Expressing grave concern over the recent political developments and ensuing constitutional crisis, the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has identified multiple constitutional, legal and operational challenges to the conduct of an early election.

“While the constitutionality of the measures leading to the dissolution of the National Assembly will be decided by the Supreme Court, Fafen hopes for a prompt decision by the apex court, which rightly took up the matter suo moto, as any delay will continue to accrue collateral issues arising out of the constitutional deadlock.

“Public confusion and political divisions that have already arisen as a result can potentially translate into violent expression. Political parties have a great responsibility to manage their workers and make sure that political disagreements do not turn into violence, especially ahead of an early election,” Fafen said in a statement issued on Monday.

According to it, an early election may not be a smooth process in view of several constitutional and legal complications.

“The critical factor for the legitimacy of any election will be the completion of the Election Commission,” it said, pointing out that the ECP members from Punjab and KP were yet to be appointed. The constitutional procedure for appointment of the members under a caretaker set-up remains unclear under Article 213 (2B), which requires the prime minister and the opposition leader to initiate the process in a specially formed committee comprising only senators.

Another concern is the constitutional and legal status of the current delimitation of seats of the national and provincial assemblies since it was carried out on the basis of provisional results of the 2017 census.

Similarly, confusion continues to shroud the practicality and enforcement of the recent amendments to the Elections Act, 2017, pertaining to the use of EVMs and the facilitation of overseas Pakistanis to vote in their country of residence, which were passed by a joint sitting of parliament without the support of the opposition parties.

Fafen said it had always urged the need for electoral reforms through political consensus as majoritarian changes to the election law always led to challenges to the legitimacy of the election outcome and political stability.

The under-registration of women on the electoral rolls is also one of the major issues that the ECP had started to successfully address through targeted campaigns. While the ECP has been able to arrest the rising gender gap on the electoral rolls, there still are 11.37 million women who remain unregistered as voters.

In case the elections are called within three months, the electoral rolls will have to be frozen 30 days before the announcement of the election programme as per Section 39 of the Elections Act, thereby rendering millions of women voters disenfranchised.

Another challenge to early elections is the operational and logistical preparation by the ECP involving recruiting and training around one million polling staff, and printing, publishing and transportation of election materials as well as selection of locations for more than 10,000 polling stations that are to be established due to the addition of more than 15 million voters on the electoral rolls since the 2018 general elections.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2022

 

[wasim-fan]

So bottom line is that minority govt dissolved the assembly and thwarted the a motion due to an alleged question on loyalty of members without any specific proof. It's a sham democracy. Funny part was to see the speaker read the speech prepared for him. Read it like a judgement and ends with "the speaker". Can't make this up.

 

[Itachi]

I have just one question. The letter which is being referred, cable or whatever, is in public domain or not?

 

[Arsal_AK]

I have just one question. The letter which is being referred, cable or whatever, is in public domain or not?

Some of it is, it was shown to the journalists. But apparently there is more serious stuff which was put at the table at NSC meeting, that is not public domain.

 

[Arsal_AK]

So bottom line is that minority govt dissolved the assembly and thwarted the a motion due to an alleged question on loyalty of members without any specific proof. It's a sham democracy. Funny part was to see the speaker read the speech prepared for him. Read it like a judgement and ends with "the speaker". Can't make this up.

That I agree, the performance could have been much better.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

So bottom line is that minority govt dissolved the assembly and thwarted the a motion due to an alleged question on loyalty of members without any specific proof. It's a sham democracy. Funny part was to see the speaker read the speech prepared for him. Read it like a judgement and ends with "the speaker". Can't make this up.

Either way you look at it, you guys wanted early elections as soon as possible, and your wishes may be coming true.
Nothing can beat that, can it?

So it’s wise to start getting ready for early ejections rather than crying crocodile tears here, no? Cuz this time it’s Pak residents abroad too, participating

 

[Colorblind Genius]

That I agree, the performance could have been much better.

It was blunt, it was crude and it was ruthless - but man, that was fun!

 

[MenInG]

The Supreme Court will resume its hearing on the ruling by National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri on the no-confidence resolution against Prime Minister Imran Khan shortly.

A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, and including Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, will take up the matter at 12pm.

Yesterday, the CJP had remarked that the court would issue a "reasonable order on the issue", but the hearing was adjourned after Farooq H. Naek, the counsel of PPP and other opposition parties, presented his arguments.

PPP Senator Raza Rabbani and senior counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan will present their arguments today and the court is likely to announce its decision.

During Monday's hearing, Justice Bandial had observed that it seemed that the question of illegality in the filing of the no-trust motion could have been addressed earlier, but once the leave of the house was granted, then the stage of raising objections had passed.

Justice Akhtar, meanwhile, had questioned the deputy speaker's constitutional authority to pass such a ruling. “I don’t think the deputy speaker had the authority to pass such a ruling,” he had said, adding that only the speaker could do so.

The CJP had also wondered why opposition members failed to attend the meeting of the parliamentary committee on national security, during which contents of the ‘threat letter’ were shared with parliamentarians.

“This needs to be answered by all political parties,” he had said, terming the parliamentary meeting important.

Earlier, Naek had requested the CJP that, in view of the grave emergency and public importance, the court should consider constituting a full court consisting of all judges, as had been done in the past.

At this, the CJP had said that if the counsel had no confidence in any member of the bench, the court would rise, adding that the full court was a luxury and during the last two years “we have suffered since 10,000 cases accumulated because of 63 hearings in the Justice Qazi Faez Isa case by a 10-judge bench”.

DAWN

 

[Pakpak]

Haha corrupt election commission asking for more time for its masters

 

[FollowThru]

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has expressed its inability to conduct general elections within three months, citing various legal hitches and procedural challenges as the reason.

A senior official of the ECP told Dawn that the preparations for the general elections would require some six months. He said fresh delimitation of constituencies, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where the number of seats had been increased under the 26th Amend*ment, and bringing district- and constituency-wise electoral rolls in conformity were the major challenges.

“Delimitation is a time-consuming exercise where the law provides for one month’s time just to invite objections,” he said, adding that another one month was required to address the same. He said a minimum of three months would be required to complete the exercise, followed by another gigantic task of updating voters’ lists.

The official said procurement of election material, arrangement for ballot papers and appointment and training of polling staff were also amongst the challenges. He said that under the law, ballot papers with water mark were to be used which were not available in the country and would have to be imported. He revealed that the ECP had proposed to amend the law to provide for ballot papers with ‘security features’, instead of ‘water mark’.

Cites various legal hitches and procedural challenges

The official said inviting bids and scrutinising financial and technical quotations would also require some time. About the election material, he said some two million stamp pads would be required for around 100,000 polling stations. “This is just one example. Other materials in huge quantity, including scissors and ball points, will also have to be procured,” he remarked.

Referring to some legal hitches, the official said that under Section 14 of the Elections Act, the ECP was to announce an election plan four months prior to the polls. He said the law requiring use of EVMs (electronic voting machines) and giving overseas Pakistanis voting rights also held the field and had to be repealed.

The official said the commission had already announced the schedule for local government (LG) elections in Baluchistan, setting May 29 as the polling day, while the process was also under way to hold LG polls in Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad.

“We will have to drop the plan for LG polls, if general elections are to be conducted,” he noted.

Legal, operational challenges

Expressing grave concern over the recent political developments and ensuing constitutional crisis, the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has identified multiple constitutional, legal and operational challenges to the conduct of an early election.

“While the constitutionality of the measures leading to the dissolution of the National Assembly will be decided by the Supreme Court, Fafen hopes for a prompt decision by the apex court, which rightly took up the matter suo moto, as any delay will continue to accrue collateral issues arising out of the constitutional deadlock.

“Public confusion and political divisions that have already arisen as a result can potentially translate into violent expression. Political parties have a great responsibility to manage their workers and make sure that political disagreements do not turn into violence, especially ahead of an early election,” Fafen said in a statement issued on Monday.

According to it, an early election may not be a smooth process in view of several constitutional and legal complications.

“The critical factor for the legitimacy of any election will be the completion of the Election Commission,” it said, pointing out that the ECP members from Punjab and KP were yet to be appointed. The constitutional procedure for appointment of the members under a caretaker set-up remains unclear under Article 213 (2B), which requires the prime minister and the opposition leader to initiate the process in a specially formed committee comprising only senators.

Another concern is the constitutional and legal status of the current delimitation of seats of the national and provincial assemblies since it was carried out on the basis of provisional results of the 2017 census.

Similarly, confusion continues to shroud the practicality and enforcement of the recent amendments to the Elections Act, 2017, pertaining to the use of EVMs and the facilitation of overseas Pakistanis to vote in their country of residence, which were passed by a joint sitting of parliament without the support of the opposition parties.

Fafen said it had always urged the need for electoral reforms through political consensus as majoritarian changes to the election law always led to challenges to the legitimacy of the election outcome and political stability.

The under-registration of women on the electoral rolls is also one of the major issues that the ECP had started to successfully address through targeted campaigns. While the ECP has been able to arrest the rising gender gap on the electoral rolls, there still are 11.37 million women who remain unregistered as voters.

In case the elections are called within three months, the electoral rolls will have to be frozen 30 days before the announcement of the election programme as per Section 39 of the Elections Act, thereby rendering millions of women voters disenfranchised.

Another challenge to early elections is the operational and logistical preparation by the ECP involving recruiting and training around one million polling staff, and printing, publishing and transportation of election materials as well as selection of locations for more than 10,000 polling stations that are to be established due to the addition of more than 15 million voters on the electoral rolls since the 2018 general elections.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2022

Refuted by ECP. Can embed the tweet from ECP handler.

 

[shortbread]

Moeed Yusuf resigns, was a sharp debater!

 

[cricketjoshila]

So what's the latest from the supreme court?

 

[Lonewarrior]

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has expressed its inability to conduct general elections within three months, citing various legal hitches and procedural challenges as the reason.

A senior official of the ECP told Dawn that the preparations for the general elections would require some six months. He said fresh delimitation of constituencies, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where the number of seats had been increased under the 26th Amend*ment, and bringing district- and constituency-wise electoral rolls in conformity were the major challenges.

“Delimitation is a time-consuming exercise where the law provides for one month’s time just to invite objections,” he said, adding that another one month was required to address the same. He said a minimum of three months would be required to complete the exercise, followed by another gigantic task of updating voters’ lists.

The official said procurement of election material, arrangement for ballot papers and appointment and training of polling staff were also amongst the challenges. He said that under the law, ballot papers with water mark were to be used which were not available in the country and would have to be imported. He revealed that the ECP had proposed to amend the law to provide for ballot papers with ‘security features’, instead of ‘water mark’.

Cites various legal hitches and procedural challenges

The official said inviting bids and scrutinising financial and technical quotations would also require some time. About the election material, he said some two million stamp pads would be required for around 100,000 polling stations. “This is just one example. Other materials in huge quantity, including scissors and ball points, will also have to be procured,” he remarked.

Referring to some legal hitches, the official said that under Section 14 of the Elections Act, the ECP was to announce an election plan four months prior to the polls. He said the law requiring use of EVMs (electronic voting machines) and giving overseas Pakistanis voting rights also held the field and had to be repealed.

The official said the commission had already announced the schedule for local government (LG) elections in Baluchistan, setting May 29 as the polling day, while the process was also under way to hold LG polls in Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad.

“We will have to drop the plan for LG polls, if general elections are to be conducted,” he noted.

Legal, operational challenges

Expressing grave concern over the recent political developments and ensuing constitutional crisis, the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has identified multiple constitutional, legal and operational challenges to the conduct of an early election.

“While the constitutionality of the measures leading to the dissolution of the National Assembly will be decided by the Supreme Court, Fafen hopes for a prompt decision by the apex court, which rightly took up the matter suo moto, as any delay will continue to accrue collateral issues arising out of the constitutional deadlock.

“Public confusion and political divisions that have already arisen as a result can potentially translate into violent expression. Political parties have a great responsibility to manage their workers and make sure that political disagreements do not turn into violence, especially ahead of an early election,” Fafen said in a statement issued on Monday.

According to it, an early election may not be a smooth process in view of several constitutional and legal complications.

“The critical factor for the legitimacy of any election will be the completion of the Election Commission,” it said, pointing out that the ECP members from Punjab and KP were yet to be appointed. The constitutional procedure for appointment of the members under a caretaker set-up remains unclear under Article 213 (2B), which requires the prime minister and the opposition leader to initiate the process in a specially formed committee comprising only senators.

Another concern is the constitutional and legal status of the current delimitation of seats of the national and provincial assemblies since it was carried out on the basis of provisional results of the 2017 census.

Similarly, confusion continues to shroud the practicality and enforcement of the recent amendments to the Elections Act, 2017, pertaining to the use of EVMs and the facilitation of overseas Pakistanis to vote in their country of residence, which were passed by a joint sitting of parliament without the support of the opposition parties.

Fafen said it had always urged the need for electoral reforms through political consensus as majoritarian changes to the election law always led to challenges to the legitimacy of the election outcome and political stability.

The under-registration of women on the electoral rolls is also one of the major issues that the ECP had started to successfully address through targeted campaigns. While the ECP has been able to arrest the rising gender gap on the electoral rolls, there still are 11.37 million women who remain unregistered as voters.

In case the elections are called within three months, the electoral rolls will have to be frozen 30 days before the announcement of the election programme as per Section 39 of the Elections Act, thereby rendering millions of women voters disenfranchised.

Another challenge to early elections is the operational and logistical preparation by the ECP involving recruiting and training around one million polling staff, and printing, publishing and transportation of election materials as well as selection of locations for more than 10,000 polling stations that are to be established due to the addition of more than 15 million voters on the electoral rolls since the 2018 general elections.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2022

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ur" dir="rtl">الیکشن کمیشن آف پاکستان <br><br>اسلام آباد 5 اپریل 2022 <br>ضروری وضاحت<br><br>ضروری وضاحت کی جاتی ہے کہ الیکشن کمیشن آف پاکستان نے الیکشن سے متعلق کوئی بیان جاری نہیں کیا ھے۔۔۔ <br><br>ترجمان الیکشن کمیشن. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ECP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ECP</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElectionCommissionofPakistan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ElectionCommissionofPakistan</a></p>— Election Commission of Pakistan (OFFICIAL) (@ECP_Pakistan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ECP_Pakistan/status/1511248616492470273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Pakpak]

Dawn needs to be banned.

They don't even twist news. Just post outright lies. Again and again and again.

 

[Syed1]

Moeed Yusuf resigns, was a sharp debater!

He did not "resign" the whole government has ended so by default every minister has stopped holding office. Examples:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On Sunday I relinquished charge as Federal Minister for Education, Professional training culture & heritage. In the last 3 and half years I feel satisfied that I was able to contribute to Education and to heritage and culture. Inshallah I will continue to do my best for Pakistan</p>— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) <a href="https://twitter.com/Shafqat_Mahmood/status/1510933157964439554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It has been an honor & a privilege to serve my country as Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Social Protection & Poverty Alleviation. As I step down from this position, I pray that Pakistan's flagship <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ehsaas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ehsaas</a> grows even stronger to serve those who need it. Pakistan Paindabad! <a href="https://t.co/lQWocCMm4X">pic.twitter.com/lQWocCMm4X</a></p>— Senator Dr Sania Nishtar (@SaniaNishtar) <a href="https://twitter.com/SaniaNishtar/status/1511277514286637058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It has been truly a privilege and honor to serve Pakistan over the last 2 years - for the first 4 months as focal person for Covid-19 and then 20 months as SAPM Health and member of PMIK's team.</p>— Faisal Sultan (@fslsltn) <a href="https://twitter.com/fslsltn/status/1511021534122491905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Once election is held in now 88 days then most of these technocrats will return when IK takes oath again inshallah

 

[MenInG]

The Supreme Court on Wednesday resumed hearing on the suo motu notice — taken by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial — on the events of April 3 when National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Shah Suri dismissed the no-confidence motion against the prime minister and President Dr Alvi dissolved the NA on the premier's advice.

A five-member bench, headed by the CJP and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, took up the case a little after noon.

On Tuesday, the petitioner’s side — joint opposition — completed their arguments. Today, government's lawyers Dr Babar Awan, Senator Ali Zafar and Imtiaz Siddiqui will present their case.

During yesterday's hearing, CJP Bandial had said that the apex court would not interfere in matter of the state and foreign policy and would only determine the legality of the deputy speaker's ruling.

His remarks had come after PML-N lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan suggested that the court hold an "in-camera briefing about the foreign conspiracy from the intelligence chief". Khan's proposal was made in the backdrop of the invocation of Article 5 by the deputy speaker while proroguing the house without holding a vote on the no-confidence resolution.

"Right now we are looking at the law and Constitution," the CJP had replied, adding that all the respondents would be told to focus on this matter at the moment and subsequently sought records of NA proceedings on the no-trust motion.

Meanwhile, PPP Senator Raza Rabbani described the abrupt prorogation and dissolution of the national assembly as "civilian coup in hybrid system" during his arguments. Subsequently, he had demanded the restoration of status quo as before the April 3 NA session.

He argued that on more than one occasion, when the house was in session, it was shown that the prime minister had lost the majority, adding that it was a matter of record that Imran Khan had said that he was given three options: face the vote of no-confidence, resign or hold early elections.

Rabbani had also requested the apex court to summon the original text of the purported ‘threatening’ cable and the minutes of the meeting of the National Security Committee that condemned it.

He said that independent proceedings should be initiated, which may include the formation of a judicial commission, to examine the veracity of the allegations.

Makhdoom Ali Khan, who was representing Shehbaz Sharif, claimed that the deputy speaker’s April 3 ruling was “manifestly illegal and a constitutional violation of gravest kind”, rather than a simple procedural lapse. Therefore, he maintained that the Supreme Court had every right to intervene in the matter.

The counsel argued that if the court came to the conclusion that the ruling of the deputy speaker and the subsequent prorogation of the assembly was unconstitutional and illegal, then all consequential actions, including the advice to President Arif Alvi to dissolve the assembly and the continuation of the incumbent Imran Khan as interim prime minister, as well as his nomination for appointment of a care taker prime minister, would be equally unconstitutional.

The bar under Article 69 that protects the speaker’s actions from being challenged in court, the counsel for Shehbaz Sharif argued, relates to procedural irregularities in parliamentary proceedings, adding that the apex court would invoke Article 54, which deals with the power of the speaker to summon and prorogue the assembly session, as a doctrine of condonation for procedural irregularities and not as a doctrine for legitimising constitutional wrongs.

Citing an example, the counsel argued that if a prime minister had no support left in the house except for the speaker, then Article 95 would become unworkable if he (the speaker) scuttles every move to remove the premier through a no-confidence motion.

“One can be the purest human being possible, but if he has no majority in the house, he cannot remain the prime minister,” the counsel argued.

During the hearing, Justice Munib Akhtar observed that if the argument of the counsel was accepted, it would open the doors to the courts and there would be a writ on minor illegalities of the house every other day, thus undermining the dichotomy of power. Is this the intent of the Constitution, Justice Akhtar wondered?

DAWN

 

[MenInG]

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJ) Umar Ata Bandial on Wednesday asked the lawyer for the PTI government, Babar Awan, about the minutes of the recent meeting of the National Security Committee which had discussed a letter purportedly showing evidence of a foreign conspiracy to oust the PTI-led government.

The CJP made the inquiry as a five-member bench, comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, took up a suo motu case on the events of April 3 when National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Shah Suri dismissed the no-confidence motion against the prime minister and President Dr Alvi dissolved the NA on the premier's advice.

During the hearing, Justice Bandial questioned the basis on which the speaker issued the ruling. He observed that, so far, the ruling consisted of accusations not findings. "Can the speaker announce such a ruling without presenting the facts," he asked, adding that this was the constitutional point on which the court had to make a decision.

He also asked Awan to inform the court whether the speaker could issue a ruling that was not on the day's agenda by bypassing Article 95. He told the PTI counsel to defend the ruling with "solid" evidence.

DAWN

 

[KingKhanWC]

Because its a waste of time going back and fourth on the same stuff.

Many of the things asked are not related with the thread discussion or even the context of it.

For example [MENTION=1269]Bewal Express[/MENTION] bhai likes to post whataboutism all the time, even if you discuss anything.

As for fact checks, its always someone googling out an article and sharing it and trying to defend that.

Benazir was never found corrupt yet you will find posters who will google out an article and try to fight on it, but those posters like [MENTION=43583]KingKhanWC[/MENTION] would have little knowledge or context to how those cases made were politically motivated by mawaz and co.

Also if someone proves something wrong, i am happy to accept and move on...

There always context but I gave you a FACT Benazir was convicted, which you had no clue of.



Now we can see the theives and their media friends attacking women who are friends with IK's wife.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Dawn needs to be banned.

They don't even twist news. Just post outright lies. Again and again and again.

Dawn, GEO and others have been bought out years ago, when Obama was first elected. The US needed to buy off some Pak media for their war of terror narrative

It was part of the so called Economic Support Fund (ESF), around $400 million to spew their propaganda. Im assuming Dawn, GEO are still working to pay of some of these earnings.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJ) Umar Ata Bandial on Wednesday asked the lawyer for the PTI government, Babar Awan, about the minutes of the recent meeting of the National Security Committee which had discussed a letter purportedly showing evidence of a foreign conspiracy to oust the PTI-led government.

The CJP made the inquiry as a five-member bench, comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, took up a suo motu case on the events of April 3 when National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Shah Suri dismissed the no-confidence motion against the prime minister and President Dr Alvi dissolved the NA on the premier's advice.

During the hearing, Justice Bandial questioned the basis on which the speaker issued the ruling. He observed that, so far, the ruling consisted of accusations not findings. "Can the speaker announce such a ruling without presenting the facts," he asked, adding that this was the constitutional point on which the court had to make a decision.

He also asked Awan to inform the court whether the speaker could issue a ruling that was not on the day's agenda by bypassing Article 95. He told the PTI counsel to defend the ruling with "solid" evidence.

DAWN

In the past, we have seen how easily many of them SC judges are only puppets of mafia and thugs.

I won't be surprised if PML and/or PPP have already used back channels to influence any of these judges?

After all...

 

[MenInG]

President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday wrote a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan to propose dates for holding general elections in the country under Article 224(2) of the Constitution.

The development comes after the National Assembly deputy speaker threw out a no-confidence motion against PM Imran and the president dissolved the lower house of Parliament on the former's advice on April 3.

The Supreme Court is currently hearing the matter to decide the legality of the deputy speaker's ruling and the subsequent actions and orders of the prime minister and the president.

The president's letter to the ECP stated that under Article 48(5)(A) and Article 224(2) of the Constitution, the president had to appoint a date, not later than 90 days from the date of dissolution of the National Assembly, for holding general elections.

"In order to carry out the mandate of the Constitution of announcing the date of general elections, consultation with the Election Commission is required under Section 57(1) of the Elections Act, 2017," the letter added.

ECP considering options

On Tuesday, a Dawn report quoting ECP sources said that the electoral body could not hold polls within three months citing various legal hitches and procedural challenges.

However, the election commission had to clarify that it had not issued any statement about holding of elections, but at the same time did not say whether it was ready to conduct the polls in three months.

Meanwhile, sources told Dawn that the electoral body had started considering options to carry out delimitation of constituencies in the minimum possible time.

Sources in the ECP said Chief Election Commis*sioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja was chairing meetings to discuss the constitutional crisis arising out of the assailed dissolution of the National Assembly and the ECP’s preparations in case the Supreme Court refused to set aside Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling on the no-trust motion and the subsequent dissolution of the assembly.

Section 17 (2) of the Elections Act 2017 directs the ECP to delimit constituencies after every census is officially notified. The current delimitation had been carried out on the basis of provisional results of the 2017 census under a one-time waiver of the legal provision.

Even after the publication of final results of the census in May last year, the commission did not conduct delimitation, perhaps because of the declared intention of the PTI to carry out fresh census in 2023.

A source said the ECP was yet to reach a decision on how to manage early delimitation, adding that one of the possible solutions could be squeezing timelines for delimitation exercise through a presidential ordinance.

He said the law provided for one month to invite objections followed by a process of hearing, adding that if the objections were heard simultaneously, it could save time.

DAWN

 

[Hermoine Green]

So what's the latest from the supreme court?

SC is just playing delay tactics, nothing else. They want to take time so that political tension may decrease in the country.

 

[Hermoine Green]

I have just one question. The letter which is being referred, cable or whatever, is in public domain or not?

Some of it parts are, those were shown to Journos.

Complete letter was shared with all the security agencies of Pakistan, and those all approved the authenticity of it.

Due to Secret Act whatever name is, Can't make the letter public.

 

[JaDed]

Some of it parts are, those were shown to Journos.

Complete letter was shared with all the security agencies of Pakistan, and those all approved the authenticity of it.

Due to Secret Act whatever name is, Can't make the letter public.

But they just made the selected content of letter public what secret act?

 

[wasim-fan]

Speaker took 7 min to get convinced.

 

[Hermoine Green]

But they just made the selected content of letter public what secret act?

CJ Athar Minallah has ordered PM not to make the letter PUBLIC, otheriwse on the basis of Secret Act, PM will be held responsible and its punishable by death.

They shared some of its content with Media people yes for sure, and some of the parts were made public as well.

But, can not reveal the complete letter.

 

[Major]

In the past, we have seen how easily many of them SC judges are only puppets of mafia and thugs.

I won't be surprised if PML and/or PPP have already used back channels to influence any of these judges?

After all...

What stupidity are you posting here?

Judiciary is a seperate branch, they cant be a puppet of govt...

 

[Major]

Speaker took 7 min to get convinced.

Its ridiculous.

You know whats funny, is that people are convinced speaker has such authority to declare people as traitors.

My favourite scene of the parliament session was when ali Wazir walked in as an mna. He was allowed to join.

Now the pak army hates ali wazir and they believe him and party, ptm, are traitors. They are trying to get the courts to declare him that.

Now if the speaker of NA had such authority, army would had gone to the sepaker or deput speaker earlier and convince them to say as a speaker that ali wazir is a traitor and shouldnt be sitting here as an mna.

However, speaker doesnt have such authority....

But meanwhile, we have 200 mnas that are traitor.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

What stupidity are you posting here?

Judiciary is a seperate branch, they cant be a puppet of govt...

Here is more stupidity for you.



how ironic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3vmvoD9PVc

 

[KingKhanWC]

Its ridiculous.

You know whats funny, is that people are convinced speaker has such authority to declare people as traitors.

My favourite scene of the parliament session was when ali Wazir walked in as an mna. He was allowed to join.

Now the pak army hates ali wazir and they believe him and party, ptm, are traitors. They are trying to get the courts to declare him that.

Now if the speaker of NA had such authority, army would had gone to the sepaker or deput speaker earlier and convince them to say as a speaker that ali wazir is a traitor and shouldnt be sitting here as an mna.

However, speaker doesnt have such authority....

But meanwhile, we have 200 mnas that are traitor.

Still peddling PPP lies?

Its simple, there was a conspiracy to be traitors by well known corrupt thieves. Not all 200 were fully aware, most were only interested in $, as per their nature.

 

[Savak]

CJ Athar Minallah has ordered PM not to make the letter PUBLIC, otheriwse on the basis of Secret Act, PM will be held responsible and its punishable by death.

They shared some of its content with Media people yes for sure, and some of the parts were made public as well.

But, can not reveal the complete letter.

The Supreme Court should be able to see the full letter being the highest judicial court of the land.

 

[MenInG]

The Supreme Court on Thursday will resume hearing the suo motu notice — taken by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial — on the events of April 3 when National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Shah Suri dismissed the no-confidence motion against the prime minister and President Dr Alvi dissolved the NA on the premier's advice.

A five-member bench, headed by the CJP and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, is expected to take up the case at 9:30am.

During yesterday's hearing, PTI’s lawyer Babar Awan as well as Senator Ali Zafar, representing President Dr Arif Alvi, had argued before the Supreme Court. Today, the court is expected to hear the arguments of Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan and Naeem Bukhari — the counsel for NA Speaker Asad Qaiser.

Justice Bandial on Wednesday observed that even though Article 69 of the Constitution bars interference in parliamentary proceedings, what happened on April 3 was unprecedented.

“The no-confidence resolution which had a constitutional backing and liable to be succeeded was scuttled at the last minute,” the CJP regretted, adding that if “we permit such a deviation” then it would amount to what Advocate Salahuddin Ahmed had referred to on Tuesday.

Representing the Sindh High Court Bar Association, Advocate Ahmed had cited a 1933 incident when the speaker of the then German assembly, while branding members of the Communist Party as traitors, allowed voting on a constitutional amendment that vested Adolf Hitler and his cabinet with unlimited powers to bring any law without a formal approval of German parliament. That development led Germany's descent into fascism, the lawyer had recalled.

During the hearing, PML-N Senator Azam Nazir Tarar drew the court’s attention to the precarious situation in Punjab where the provincial assembly secretariat was sealed despite the calling of the session by the deputy speaker. Advocate Imtiaz Siddiqui, who represents the interim prime minister, however, declared the notification as fake.

At this, CJP Bandial said if the system was not functioning then the constitutional functionaries had the authority to assemble anywhere, even at Bagh-i-Jinnah, to hold the session, instead of the assembly hall. He observed that the court didn’t want to get distracted by the situation in Punjab, adding that if “you people are at loggerheads with each other then go to the political sovereign”.

They should learn from the conduct of the National Assembly members who come to the court daily without making any noise and stand here with grace and dignity, the CJP said, adding that the provincial assembly members should find their own solution.

Justice Bandial observed that though the NA deputy speaker’s ruling, according to the lawyer, might be flawed, it was protected under Article 69 of the Constitution. Eventually, the ruling later led to dissolution of the National Assembly for fresh elections.

“Where is the malice if this development is not anti-democratic,” the CJP wondered, but then said there was an element of trickery and if the members had any grouse then why were they afraid of fresh elections?

Justice Mandokhel observed that when political parties believed that floor crossing was malice and all the political parties had suffered in the past, then they must discover the weaknesses which encouraged members to change loyalties and should find a solution by concentrating on institution building.

He said the court would decide the present case in the interest of the country that would be binding upon all. He wondered why the entire assembly was thrown out instead of inquiring about the conduct of those who connived with a foreign state to dislodge the government.

Justice Akhtar recalled that the UK Supreme Court had ruled the other day that it was the court which would determine the privileges of members of parliament.

Senator Ali Zafar argued that the law of parliamentary privileges had been developed in the context of the principle of trichotomy of powers, under which parliament had certain privileges — the fundamental and foremost privileges are that parliament is the sole and exclusive judge and master of its own proceedings and business and no decisions or rulings made while conducting parliamentary proceedings or business were justiciable.

The president’s counsel cited a recent speech of Justice Maqbool Baqar who emphasised the delicate balance between institutions through mutual balance like honeycomb. He said it was also part of parliamentary privileges that no officer, including the deputy speaker, was subject to jurisdiction of courts in respect of parliamentary privileges or proceedings.

The law on parliamentary privileges is the same as that of the UK House of Commons.

“It is only if a proceeding is outside the scope of proceedings in parliament that the court can examine,” Zafar argued, adding that the Supreme Court could look into the subsequent development of the dissolution of the National Assembly on the advice of the prime minister but not the ruling of the deputy speaker.

“The vote of confidence is clearly a matter of proceedings in the National Assembly and any ruling passed by the speaker or deputy speaker in respect thereof or during the same is not justiciable,” he said.

“In view of the constitutional crisis, the best and the only solution lies with the ultimate sovereign i.e. the people of Pakistan,” he argued, adding that the only remedy available was election.

“Since the appeal has been made to the people of Pakistan and elections are to take place in 90 days, as per the established practice and prudence established by the courts, it should not be interfered at this stage and let the people decide.

“The dissolution of the assemblies is an independent act undertaken by the president under Article 48(5), read with Article 58. At the time, no resolution of no confidence was pending against the prime minister and, hence, the dissolution cannot be questioned under Article 48(4),” the counsel emphasised.

Zafar pointed out that when the elections of the Senate chairman was challenged in the Islamabad High Court, it had ruled that the constitutional elections in parliament were protected [from judicial intervention] as well.

He said the court could only review the speaker's ruling on the no-confidence motion if it decided to not consider it a parliamentary proceeding.

"What if the votes are not enough but the speaker announces that the no-confidence motion has succeeded?" Justice Mandokhail asked. "What will happen then?

"These may be parliamentary issues but the court cannot monitor the parliament." The lawyer contended that the parliament should be given a chance to solve its issues itself.

The CJP observed that Zafar's argument that the speaker's ruling was protected even if it was wrong was interesting. "After the ruling, the NA was dissolved and fresh elections were announced," the CJP noted, adding that "it was decided to go to the public."

The CJP said that the lawyers of PML-N would be asked what the issue was in going to the public. Justice Ahsan then asked how someone's rights were affected by going into elections. At this point, the CJP reiterated that the case concerned the violation of Article 95 of the Constitution.

"The SC can intervene wherever the Constitution is breached," Justice Bandial said, but added that "we respect the sanctity of parliament."

DAWN

 

[Itachi]

Now it boils down to, parliament vs supreme court.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday broke its silence over criticism by former PTI ministers, saying that the ECP is committed to fulfilling its legal duties and other institutions should do the same and refrain from unnecessary criticism.

Talking about the delimitation controversy, the ECP spokesperson pointed out that the National Assembly’s (NA) constituencies were reduced to 266 from 272 after the merger of ex-Fata, reducing its NA seats from 12 to six, and in such a situation, delimitation was imperative prior to the conduct of elections.

Holding the PTI government responsible for the delay, the ECP said the national census 2017 was provisional and it could not be notified. The ECP stated that it had written multiple letters to the government, prime minister and Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and other related departments, repeatedly reminding them that delimitation was the constitutional responsibility of the ECP and it could not be started until the census was notified.

After its efforts, the census was notified on May 6, 2021, and the ECP issued the schedule for the delimitation exercise and then the government decided to carry out a digital national census, therefore, the work on delimitation was halted.

After that, the ECP wrote to the government on September 30, 2021, and January 21, 2022, for early completion of the digital national census, so delimitation of constituencies could be started. But the digital census could not be completed. However, the ECP had resolved to carry out its responsibilities.

President Alvi asks ECP to propose dates for general elections
Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi Wednesday asked the ECP to propose dates for holding general elections in the country under Article 224(2) of the Constitution.

The development comes at the heels of the dissolution of the NA. The Supreme Court is hearing the matter to adjudicate upon the legality of the deputy speaker's ruling and the subsequent actions and orders of the prime minister as well as the president.

The letter from the President’s Secretariat to the ECP said that under Article 48(5)(A) and Article 224(2) of the Constitution, the president had to appoint a date, not later than 90 days from the date of dissolution of the Assembly, to hold a general election. "In order to carry out the mandate of the Constitution of announcing the date of general elections, consultation with the Election Commission is required under Section 57(1) of the Elections Act, 2017," it added.

However, the ECP, according to a source, is not in a hurry to respond to the president’s letter and would wait for the outcome of the related ongoing proceedings in the apex court.

Needless to say, under Section 17(1) of the Elections Act, 2017, the ECP is responsible to delimit territorial constituencies for elections to the NA, each provincial assembly and to local governments, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the Act, the rules and the applicable local government law.

Section 17 (2) of the Act reads, “The Commission shall delimit constituencies after every census officially published."

Elections Act
The ECP official explained Section 21 of the Elections Act.

"1. For the purpose of delimiting constituencies, the Commission may receive and consider representations, hold inquiries, summon witnesses and record evidence, and shall prepare and publish in the official Gazette a preliminary report and list of constituencies specifying the areas proposed to be included in each constituency.

"2. The Commission shall invite representations in respect of the preliminary report within a period of thirty days from the date of publication.

"3. A voter in a constituency may, within the period specified in sub-section (2), make a representation to the Commission in respect of the delimitation of that constituency proposed in the preliminary report.

"4. The Commission shall, after hearing and considering the representations, if any, received by it, make such amendments, alterations or modifications in the preliminary list of constituencies published under sub-section (1) as it thinks fit or necessary, and shall, within a period of thirty days from the last date fixed for making representation under sub-section (2), publish in the Official Gazette and on its website, the final report and list of constituencies showing the areas included in each constituency."

Moreover, the timelines provided in the law could not be compromised, as this would be tantamount to compromising the quality of the elections. However, despite all these stark realities, the ECP had already told all the four provincial election commissioners drawing their attention to the situation arising out of the dissolution of the NA by the president and that under Article 224(4); it was the constitutional obligation of the ECP to conduct elections within 60 days if the Assembly completes its term and 90 days in case of dissolution of the Assembly before completion of its term.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/410035-ec...ti-govt-responsible-for-delay-in-delimitation

 

[daytrader]

Suri’s unilateral ruling did not enjoy parliamentary immunity: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has issued a detailed judgement explaining the reasons behind its decision to set aside a controversial ruling by the National Assembly speaker on April 3 that dismissed the no-confidence motion against then prime minister Imran Khan.

In the verdict authored by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, the top judge stated that by dismissing the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan, Mr Suri prima facie breached his constitutional duty. Justice Bandial said the April 3 ruling failed to qualify for protection of the internal proceedings of parliament under Article 69(1) as it was “not the outcome of a vote in the national assembly instead, it was a unilateral decision”.

Justice Bandial observed that the controversial action by the deputy speaker triggered a chain of events, the most concerning aspect of which was that it allowed the then PM to claim the constitutionally repugnant outcome of avoiding the no-trust motion without a vote by the assembly.

The court’s foremost priority was the maintenance of constitutional order which could only be achieved if the assembly was restored, Justice Bandial added.

Cypher not shown to court

Justice Bandial, while referring to the cypher used by Mr Suri to dismiss the motion against Imran Khan, explained that the text of the cypher was not shown to the apex court, though its contents were partially disclosed in the detailed reasons issued in support of the deputy speaker’s ruling.

The detailed reasons in addition to cabinet decision of April 2 acknowledged the need for an inquiry to establish the alleged collusion between the opposition and a foreign state.

“Such an inquiry into facts can, in the first place, be carried out either by a commission constituted by the federal government under the 2017 Act or by a specialised commission constituted under an Act of parliament or an ordinance,” Justice Bandial observed.

The PTI’s plea that the apex court should take suo motu over the defence of national security and allegation of breach of sovereignty was without precedent, the ruling explained.

Moreover, the opposition members who filed the notice were granted leave to move the motion against the then PM on March 28, crystallised the constitutional right and obligation for there to be a vote under Article 95(2) on the motion.

This right/obligation cannot be defeated or curtailed except by a vote on the floor of the assembly, the ruling said, adding: “Since the deputy speaker’s ruling unilaterally refused the right of vote granted by the constitution, no immunity under Article 69(1) attaches to it and the same can be reviewed by the court.”

High treason

Meanwhile, Justice Mazahar Alam Khan Miankhel, who retired on July 13, in his additional note observed that the exercise of authority was a sacred trust which was violated by the president, then PM, the then speaker, the then deputy speaker and the then law minister.

“Whether these acts attract Article 6 of the Constitution (high treason) is also left open to be determined by the parliamentarians to ponder should they leave open the doors for such unconstitutional acts or take suitable measures to stop such like mess in future,” Justice Miankhel suggested.

The elected representatives of the people were prevented from voting on the resolution and for such blatant transgression of the Constitution there must be consequences and the law must take its course, Justice Miankhel added.

‘Doctrine of necessity’

Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, in his additional note, observed that the action of the deputy speaker was biased, on the basis whereof, if permitted to hold fresh elections, would amount to giving licence to an authority to misuse the extraordinary power of the doctrine of necessity.

This country has already experienced misuse of the doctrine of necessity by the hands of unconstitutional forces time and again, which were legitimised by the apex court, but it did not achieve the desired results, he added.

Rather, the democracy suffered a lot because of misuse of the doctrine of necessity, Justice Mandokhel observed. He added the courts must discourage every action, which was contrary to the constitution and democratic norms.

DAWN